Ratnatrayam Pathshala

STORY-1

In times of Lord Mahaveera, there was a burglar named

Lohkhur. He lived in a remote cave of Vaibhargiri near
Rajgruhi. He was very smart in his activity and never left any
trace of his burglary. His wifes name was Rohini and they had
a son named Rohineya. As Rohineya grew up, he picked up
the art of burglary from his father and eventually became an
expert burglar. In smartness, he even surpassed his father. It
was almost impossible to recognize him, when he was in
disguise. If some one pursued him, he could outrun anyone.
He could even jump over walls when necessary. He committed
burglary mostly from houses of noblemen and rich people and
hid the treasure of his burglaries in the most unexpected and
inaccessible places. To the poor, he extended help from the
wealth that he had so accumulated. Many of them therefore
felt grateful and were pleased with him. Therefore, they were
not willing to help the Government officials in tracking him
down.
Lohkhur was now very old and could see that his life was soon
to end. When he was on his deathbed, he called Rohineya by
his side and said that he was very happy with the expertise
that he had shown in committing burglary, which had been
their ancestral profession. In order to stay successful, he
however advised his son never to listen to the sermon of Lord
Mahaveera, because his teachings were not conducive to their
profession. Rohineya promised his father to abide by his
advice. So, Lohkhur could breathe his last breath with the
sense of satisfaction.
After he died, Rohineya expanded his burglary to a large
scale. So much, that it became almost impossible for the well
to do families to experience safety of their property, if they
needed to go out. They were constantly afraid that Rohineya
would reach their home during their absence and take away
jewelry and other valuables from the house. Such people once
came to king Shrenik and requested him to take some
effective action to protect them from Rohineyas burglaries,
since police officers had failed to do anything about the
matter. The king therefore asked Abhayakumar to undertake
suitable action for getting hold of Rohineya.

Once, while Rohineya was secretly on his way to Rajgruhi, he

had to pass by the side of Lords assembly. He remembered
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

his fathers advice. He therefore put his hands on his ears in

order to prevent the voice of the Lord from reaching him.
Unfortunately however, a sharp thorn pricked deep into his
foot that very instance. He had therefore to take his hands off
from the ears in order to take out the thorn. During this time,
words of the Lord reached his ears. He heard the following
words: Human life is the best of all lives. It is possible to
attain liberation only during human life. Every human being
can attain salvation irrespective of caste, creed, or color. By
virtuous deeds, one would gain life in heaven where there are
all sorts of material pleasures and happiness. The heavenly
beings move above the ground and their feet do not touch it.
Their bodies are shadowless; their eyes remain steady and
their garlands do not wither. That life however does not lead
to ultimate liberation which provides eternal bliss. Therefore,
heavenly beings too crave for obtaining human life. By that
time Rohineya removed the thorn from his foot and covering
his ears with his hands again, he proceeded towards the city.
Since being entrusted with the task of trapping Rohineya,
Abhayakumar had secretly posted trained soldiers in disguise
at the gates and all important corners of the city. He himself
also remained watchful. Next time Rohineya came to the city,
a watchman saw him. Rohineya was in the guise of a farmer.
The watchman sent a message to Abhayakumar that some
unidentified person had entered the city. Abhayakumar
became very alert. As Rohineya passed by, Abhayakumar
glanced at him from a secret place. He did not fail to
recognize the burglar even in disguise and instructed his men
to surround him. Smart as Rohineya was, he quickly
recognized the danger. He ran towards the city wall.
Unfortunately for him, there were soldiers near the wall to
capture him. He was thus easily apprehended and was put in
jail.
The next day, he was appeared in court. As Rohineya was in
disguise, it was hard to identify him as the burglar.
Abhayakumar was of course sure, but how could the accused
be punished without proof of his identity? When the king
asked him about his identity, Rohineya replied that he was a
farmer named Durgachandra and belonged to Shaligram
village; he had come to Rajgruhi for seeing the capital and
was returning home when watchmen tried to apprehend him.
Rohineya had made arrangements for that assumed identity
with the residents of that village. When the inquiries were
therefore made in that village, the people corroborated what
Rohineya had stated in the court.
Abhayakumar had to devise a plan for getting a confession of
Rohineya regarding the burglaries. He came to know that
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

Rohineya was fond of drinks. He therefore arranged for

serving excessive wine to the accused to the extent of making
him unconscious. In that state, Rohineya was neatly cleaned,
dressed in extravagantly perfumed royal garments and was
adorned with valuable jewelry. He was then placed on a
luxurious velvet bed on a sandalwood cot on the top floor of a
palatial building. As Rohineya regained his senses, he saw
himself in heavenly surroundings. There was breath taking
view all around; walls, ceiling and floor were crystalline;
beautiful maidens were waving scented air with diamond
studded fans; slow sweet music was flowing from the
background; fairylike damsels were dancing in tune with that
music and apparently divine musicians were getting ready for
a musical concert.
Rohineya could not make out where he was. He asked one of
the girls where he was and why all of them were serving him
so well. The girl replied that he was their Lord in the heaven
that he had attained all the divine comforts, which now
belonged to him. He could live like Indra, the king of heaven
and enjoy with the heavenly damsels the way he wanted.
Could this be true for a burglar like him? he asked himself.
But he then remembered that he was helpful to the poor and
needy and he was sure that God must have been just. Or
could this be the plan of Abhayakumar? he thought again. It
was real hard for him to decide what was truth. He therefore
thought it was best to wait and see.
After a while, a luxuriously clad person entered with a golden
staff and book in his hand. Is your new Lord awake? he asked
one of the damsels. The girl replied that their new lord had
just woken up and they had been getting ready to celebrate
his arrival in the heaven by presenting the divine concert. Let
me make sure that all preparations pertaining to his arrival
have been completed before you start your concert; and let
me also get from him some information that the heavenly
realm needs to know. As he was saying this, he came to
Rohineya. Opening his book, he asked Rohineya to narrate his
deeds from his previous life, before prior to enjoying the
amenities of heaven.
Meanwhile, Rohineya was watching all around. He
remembered what he had heard from Lord Mahaveera about
heavenly beings, at when the thorn had pricked his foot. He
observed the movements of the so called heavenly beings in
front of him. He noticed that their feet were touching the
ground, their bodies had shadows, and their eyes were
blinking like human beings. He immediately made out that the
heaven was a fake and it was only a trick of Abhayakumar to
gain evidence of his burglaries. He therefore replied that in
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

the previous life he had given donations for all worthy causes,
he had constructed temples, and he had been for pilgrimage
to holy places and had rendered service to the deserving
entities. That person took note of his statement and asked
him to narrate any wrong deeds that he might have indulged
in. Rohineya said that he had scrupulously avoided misdeeds
and therefore he was born in heaven. Abhayakumars plan
back fired and Rohineya was set free as being the innocent
farmer that he pretended to be.
Rohineya was released, however, he constantly thought about
what had happened. He realized that what he had
accidentally heard from Lord Mahaveera, had saved his life.
Then how could his father be right in the advice that he had
given? That Lord must have been a real grateful entity. If
those accidentally heard words were so helpful, imaging how
helpful his entire teachings could be? he asked himself. Did
he waste his years avoiding sermons of the Lord? After
pondering at length, he decided to go to the Lord and to serve
at his feet. He went to the assembly and humbly requested
the Lord to accept him as his pupil. He also offered to become
a monk, if the Lord considered him fit for renouncement. As
the Lord thought him worthy to become his pupil, he sought
his permission to make confession to the king before he
renounced. He then disclosed his real identity to the king who
was present in the assembly and offered to accept any
punishment. He also requested Abhayakumar to order some
of his officials to take back all the valuables that he had
stored. That way the stolen materials were recovered and
handed over to their respective owners.
Since Rohineya had voluntarily confessed and had willingly
returned everything that he had taken during burglaries, the
king decided to pardon him and permitted him to be the
Lords monk. Rohineya highly repented for what he had done
in his life. He started observing severe austerities in order to
erase the Karmas acquired by his misdeeds. When his body
was unable to bear more, he adopted Anashan (Avoiding food
and staying in meditation) with the permission of the Lord and
attained entry into heaven at the end of his life.
Key Message:
Theme here focuses on honesty and principle of non-stealing.
One should not steal from others even if one takes the stolen
items and donates them to poor people. Wrong doing is still
wrong doing regardless of how much good you are doing in
other areas. One must repent for it in order to destroy the bad
karma that accumulate as a result of it. Second thing we learn
from this story is that we can only attain liberation from
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

human form. Even heavenly beings cant attain liberation

without taking a birth as a human being first. So we should all
realize how fortunate we all are to have this human birth and
make the most of it and wash away as much bad karma as we
possibly can.

STORY-2
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

In ancient times there was a town named

Ilavardhan in which there lived a
businessman named Dhandatta. He had a
wife named Ilachi who gave birth to a very
lovable and handsome boy. That being the
only son, the parents deliberately kept
him nameless. As a son of Ilachi, he came
to be known as Ilachiputra. He was reared
with all the loving care and attention in
the midst of luxuries. In due course he
grew to be a handsome youth and as such
started being called Ilachikumar. His
parents were now eager to get him
married. Being the only son of a well to do
family,
many people offered their
daughters in marriage. His parents
prepared a list of selected names out of
them and asked Ilachikumar to choose
any one that he liked the most. But
Ilachikumar could not make any selection.
One day a party of acrobats came to the
town. During those days, there were no
stadiums where acrobats could play. They
had to show their skills on the open
streets. Beating the drums in token of
their arrival, those acrobats planted the
poles in an open area off the main street
and connected them with ropes. Many
people assembled there to watch the
show. The acrobats ascended the pole one
after another and started demonstrating
their skill of playing on the rope. They
were walking and jumping over the high
rope. People were very fascinated by the
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

performance. Ilachikumar also had come

there to watch the show. While watching
the performance of the acrobats, his
attention was drawn to the young girl of
the chief of acrobats. She looked very
smart and was dancing very gracefully to
the tune of the drums with ringing jingle
bells on her feet. Ilachikumar got too
much enamored by her and could not
move his glance from her.
At the end of the show, the acrobats came
down the rope and started collecting
money from the people who had
assembled for the show. People were very
pleased with the performance and paid
handsomely. Thus collecting good amount,
the acrobats left the place and every one
went home. Ilachikumar also had to go
home. He was however so much
fascinated by the girl that he remained
absorbed in thoughts about her and could
not fix his mind anywhere else. At
lunchtime his parents called him to join.
There too, he remained silent and finished
the lunch without uttering a single word.
His parents had never seen him so serious
and
wondered
about
his
absentmindedness. His father asked him about
the reason for his seriousness, but he kept
quiet. After the father left, the mother
lovingly asked him to speak out whatever
was in his mind. Ilachikumar said that it
was no use telling her about that. As she
repeatedly asked him, he finally replied
that his mind was attracted towards the
girl of the acrobats and he wanted to
marry her.
His mother was taken aback to hear that.
She said that she could get him very
beautiful and lovable girls from well to do
families and asked him to forget that
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

wretched acrobat girl. He replied that no

other girl would attract his mind and he
wanted to marry only that girl. Realizing
the firmness of his mind, the mother told
her husband about their sons intentions.
Dhandatta was shocked to hear this. He
tried to dissuade the son from his
intention but Ilachikumar remained firm.
Dhandatta was a sensible man. He could
see that Ilachikumar would not stay
peaceful without that girl. He did not want
to lose his son for the sake of prestige. He
therefore called the chief of acrobats and
requested him to give his daughter in
marriage to Ilachikumar.
The acrobat however said that he could
not do that because he was bound by the
convention of his tribe. Dhandatta thought
that he might be looking for getting
money for the girl. He therefore offered to
give as much wealth as the acrobat
wanted for agreeing to marry his daughter
to his son. The acrobat however declined
his offer and replied that he could not
break the convention. Dhandatta then
asked him about his tribal convention. The
acrobat said that he could give his
daughter only to the person who could
win an award from a royal court by
pleasing the king with his acrobatic skill
and would give dinner to his community
out of the prize money. Dhandatta was
disappointed to hear that because it was
apparently impossible for his son to fulfill
that condition. He explained to his wife
what had happened. She called her son
and said that the girl would marry only to
an expert acrobat and asked him to forget
her.
Ilachikumar did not give any reply. He
however could not change his mind. He
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

felt that he could not survive without that

girl and was willing to make any sacrifice
for her. He was even prepared to learn the
acrobatic skill for that purpose. His
parents were baffled by his silence but
thought that he would come to senses in
due course. They felt confident that
Ilachikumar could never become an
expert acrobat. As Ilachikumar continued
to remain absent minded, they tried to
divert his mind. All their efforts however
failed and Ilachikumar stayed bent upon
getting that girl somehow. When the
acrobat group therefore decided to leave
Ilavardhan, Ilachikumar secretly slipped
from his home and left town along with
them.
He discarded his fancy clothes and
donning the course clothes of the
acrobats, he started learning their skill. He
was smart by nature and used all his
diligence to learn the acrobatics. The girl
too got enamored of him and helped him
in all possible ways to learn the skill. With
her help, he could easily master the skill
and soon became an expert acrobat. In
due course, when the group reached the
city of Benatat, he requested the father of
the girl to organize a show at the royal
court there. Thereafter, the chief went to
the king and requested him to watch the
performance of the young acrobat and to
award a suitable prize, if it was thought
fit.
The king agreed and accordingly the
acrobats fixed the poles in the compound
of the royal palace, where the officers of
the state and elite of the city were invited
to watch the performance. At the right
time, the king occupied his seat in the
balcony of the palace. Bowing to him,
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

Ilachikumar went over the pole and then

jumping over the rope, he started
displaying his acrobatic skill. He was
tightly walking over the high rope
intercepted
with
risky
jumps
and
summersaults.
It
was
a
superb
performance. No one had ever watched
such acrobatic feats. Every one was highly
fascinated by his skill. Ilachikumar was
feeling gratified by the appreciation of the
people. He thought that it should have
been enough for pleasing the king too. He
therefore came down and bowing to him
again, he requested for an appropriate
award.
The king was however more fascinated by
the young girl than by the performance.
He thought that he could easily gain her,
if he somehow got rid of the acrobat. He
therefore pretended that his mind was too
much occupied with the problems of the
state and could not give attention to the
performance. He therefore requested
Ilachikumar to show his skill again.
Accordingly, Ilachikumar got over the rope
again and displayed his skill. At the end of
that show when he came down, the king
pretended to be drowsy and asked him to
show the performance again. Ilachikumar
could not believe that. He suspected that
there was something wrong somewhere.
Since he was however keen to gain his
long cherished goal of getting married to
the girl, he decided to try again.
He again started the ropewalk, which to
him was as easy as walking on the plain
surface. He triumphantly looked around.
From that height, he noticed, at a little
distance, that a beautiful woman was
offering sweet food to a monk. She was in
the prime of her youth and was very
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

attractive and highly graceful. Ilachikumar

was however surprised to observe that
the monk was not even looking at her. He
was amazed to see that while he himself
was hankering for the acrobat girl, the
monk remained totally unaffected in the
presence of that lovely woman. He was
struck by the detachment of the monk. He
compared the girl of his choice with that
woman. The acrobat girl was no doubt
attractive but the woman there was far
more attractive. What could have been
the force that kept the monk aloof in
presence of that woman? And while
remaining aloof, happiness was evident on
his face! This detachment of the monk
raised a quick train of thoughts in the
mind of Ilachikumar.
"How come, I do not get detached, even
though I have been repeatedly asked by
the king to show the performance!" He
recalled the excuses of the king for
making him perform on the rope again
and again. He could suspect that the king
was in all probability attracted by the girl
and was waiting for his fall from the rope.
"In that case I would never secure the girl
for whom I have abandoned my home and
the parents. The happiness that he was
looking for, was an illusion. At home, he
had been a little exposed to the religious
principles. He had learned about the soul
within the body and its immense
capabilities.
He
realized
that
his
achievements as an acrobat must have
been due to that inner capability. That
monk could remain unaffected, because
he remained tuned to his soul and stayed
vigilant about the pitfalls. "As an acrobat, I
also have to remain constantly vigilant,
because the slightest unawareness on my
part can result in fall from the height and
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

consequent death. Why then, should I not

use the same vigilance for the sake of the
spiritual uplift?"
He had treaded a long path of spiritual
pursuit in earlier life. The impact of that
achievement was lying subdued within,
waiting for an opportunity to manifest
itself. The sight of the monk provided the
needed opportunity. He became fully
awakened realizing that he was the soul
and all the other situations were simply
illusory. While on the rope, he dwelt deep
into his Self and attained omniscience.
Then he quietly climbed down and bid
farewell to every one, as he left the place.
Key Message:
The focus of this is on the principle of
detachment. Attachment can be to
materialistic things or to people/feelings.
Often times, attachment causes us to
behave in ways that may be hurtful to
others and/or inconsistent with the
principles of Jainism. We should strive to
minimize our attachments (i.e. detach
ourselves) and focus on our souls. Our
souls dont require any type of attachment
to materialistic things or people in order
to attain omniscience. A soul is
completely
detached
and
leaves
everything behind when it moves to the
next life.

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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

STORY-3

In Rajgruhi there was a wealthy merchant named

Rushabhadatt who was also known as Arhadas. His
wife Dharini alias Jinmati gave birth to a very
handsome son in 542 BC. The boy was named Jambu.
He turned out to be very bright and intelligent. Every
one liked him. As he grew up, many families were
eager to get him married to their daughters. Since it
was the age of polygamy, his parents selected 8 girls
of reputed families and Jambu was duly engaged with
them. Prior to the marriage Jambu once went to the
assembly of Sudharmaswami and was very much
impressed by the sermon. He developed a very high
sense of detachment and decided to renounce his
worldly life. His parents were of course not happy
about his renouncing at such a young age. Parents of
the girls he was engaged to were also very
perturbed. They were worried about their daughters,
since no one else would accept them because of
their being already engaged to him.
All of them pressed Jambu to give up his intention.
They pointed out the rigors of ascetic life that he
would not be able to face. They also told him that it
is very hard to lead the life of a monk and advised
him lead a comfortable family life. However, he
remained firm. The parents thought that he would
change his mind, if he gets married. They therefore
insisted upon his getting married before renouncing.
Jambu agreed on the condition that he should be
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

allowed to renounce the day after his marriage. Since

the girls to whom he was engaged were very
beautiful and attractive, every one thought that he
would surely gain attachment for them, once he is
married. The elders therefore accepted that
condition.
The wedding took place on a grand scale. Jambus
parents and those of the girls vied with one another
in show of their prosperity. No effort was left out to
make the wedding a memorable ceremony. Highly
distinguished guests graced the occasion. Jewelry
and other precious gifts that were adorned upon the
newly weds, were the envy of the city. Rajgruhi had
rarely witnessed such pomp and splendor. Every one
congratulated Jambu for getting such beautiful and
glamorous wives and wished him perfect happiness.
At night Jambu was in elegantly decorated bedroom
along with his wives and the elders heaved a sigh of
relief.
Jambu was however not at all affected by the
glamour nor was he overcome by the beauty of those
lovely girls. He had made up his mind to renounce
the next day and wanted to make use of the night for
orienting those girls for the purpose. He sat in front
of them and started explaining the purely temporary
and transitory character of life and everything
pertaining to that.
At that time in the vicinity of Rajgruhi, there was a
burglar named Prabhav. He had been a prince of
Vindhya but had a falling out with his parents on the
issue of some property. He therefore left the place
and had taken up burglary. He had gathered with him
500 colleagues who were willing to undertake any
sort of adventure at his command. He had acquired a
device to put any one to sleep and he could break
any type of lock. He came to know of the fabulous
treasure accumulated on the occasion of Jambus
wedding and had decided to grab it.
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

At dead of the night he came to the place along with

his followers and saw that every one had gone to
sleep because of the exhaustion of the ceremony. He
asked his colleagues to pick up the valuables as he
proceeded towards Jambus bedroom for the jewelry
on the bodies of newly weds. From a little distance,
he heard Jambu talking to his wives. He could not
believe that the newly weds were still awake. He
came close to the door and tried to listen expecting
exciting love gossip. To his utter astonishment,
Jambu was talking about the true nature of life. His
words were so forceful that Prabhav could not stop
listening.
Jambus talk was appealing not only to his wives but
also to Prabhav. He started thinking that he had
fallen out with his parents and others for the sake of
some possessions and was leading the nasty life of a
burglar, while here was a young boy planning to give
up everything that he had effortlessly gained.
Jambus talk was still going on. The more Prabhav
listened, the more he hated himself. His men came to
him with bundles of valuables, pointing out that it
was getting dawn and they should leave. But
Prabhav was not listening to them. He had developed
disdain for his current life and was keen to change it.
Ultimately he told his followers to leave him alone,
because he had decided to give up burglary. They
could therefore go on their own. All of them were
exasperated at that. They said that they would not
go anywhere without him. If he was giving up the
occupation, they were also willing to give it up.
By that time Jambu had finished. His wives were
convinced of the futility of the worldly life and had
decided to renounce with him. Then Prabhav came
inside and said that he had come up for the burglary
but had decided to renounce after listening his talk to
his wives. He and his 500 followers made up their
mind to be Jambus pupils. In the morning, news
spread everywhere that Jambu was going to
renounce that day along with his wives. His parents
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

were disappointed that their intention did not

materialize. They did not have any incentive to
continue the household life and decided to renounce.
And so was the decision of the girls parents. A
spectacular procession was organized leading all
those
500+
people
to
the
assembly
of
Sudharmaswami. Jambu became his pupil and
Prabhav and his colleagues became Jambus pupils.
Jambuswami as he became known henceforth
studied the entire teaching of Lord Mahaveera. Most
of Jain scriptures are composed in the form of
dialogue from Sudharmaswami to Jambuswami. He
became the head of the religious order when
Sudharmaswami attained omniscience. He himself
attained it at the age of 36. He was the last
omniscient of the current time cycle. He attained
Nirvana at the age of 80.
Key Message:
Jambuswami firmly believed in renouncing the
worldly life from the start. In fact, his words/sermons
were so powerful that it ultimately led hundreds of
others to follow him in the pursuit of omniscience
through the disciplined life of an ascetic. He realized
that marital happiness, and enjoyment of physical
beauty (of his 8 wives) is all superficial and
temporary. The key is to focus on purifying the soul
and helping others do the same.

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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

STORY-4

Long time ago in the city of Kshitipratisthit,

there was a king named Ritumardan. His wife,
Madanarekha, was a very devoted and religious
queen. She gave birth to a baby girl and named
her Mairavati. The princess was beautiful and
bright. As she grew older, the king arranged for
her general education, while the queen took
care of her spiritual teachings.
One day, when the court was in session the
queen asked Mairavati to attend the court. She
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

was dressed in her finest robe and jewelry. Her

father, Ritumardan, had her sit on the throne
with him. The king asked his courtiers, "Does
anyone in this world have as much wealth as I
do?"
The courtiers answered, "Your Majesty, we can
not even think of that much wealth, even in a
dream, let alone having it. Nobody else in this
world has as much wealth as you do."
The princess disagreed and said, "There may
be many other kings who have in their
possession equal or more treasures. We should
not brag about what we have. The king
overlooked this comment.
He asked another question, "With whose grace
are you all happy?
The courtiers replied, "By your grace, Your
Majesty. There is no doubt about it."
The princess again disagreed. She said, "What
is wrong with you all? You do not have to flatter
him. You know, what we receive is due to our
own karmas. Father, if you think you can make
everyone happy, then why don't you make
everybody happy on the same level as yours?
That is impossible and what is happening is
nothing but the result of everybody's own
karmas."
The king became outraged and shouted, "Crazy
girl! Why are you talking to me like this? Who
taught you such things? You know that I can
make a poor man rich or the rich man a poor
man. If you agree with me, I will have you
marry a prince, but if you disagree I will marry
you to a poor guy and you will see how your
karmas work."

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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

The princess replied calmly to her father, "You

are mistaken. She continued, "If I do not have
good karmas in my favor, then even the best of
the grooms chosen for me can turn into a
beggar. We should not brag as if we can do
anything and everything."
The king was very upset. He ordered his
guards, "Go and find the poorest, the meanest,
and the ugliest man, and I will have her marry
him. I want to see how her karmas save her."
The princess stayed calm. The king's men
found a leper and brought him to the court. His
ears were rotten, nose flat, and his fingers were
oozing pus all over the place. The king was
very happy with their choice. He told the
princess, "Defiant girl! It is my order that you
marry him."
The princess married him without any
hesitation. She slowly got down and accepted
this man as her husband. Everybody in the
court was stunned. The king was satisfied with
his actions. The princess was asked to remove
her precious clothes and jewelry and was
ordered to leave the city. Princess and her
husband left the city.
The princess was as happy as ever before. She
never regretted what she had told her father.
She had full faith in her religious belief. They
walked the whole day and later in the evening,
they took shelter in a temple. The leper was
very moved by her. He told her, "I know what
your father did was not right and it is not easy
for a royal girl to marry a leper. You should
disregard our marriage and marry another man
of your choice.
The princess told him, "Why are you talking to
me like this? I have accepted you as my
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

husband and I am happy with my choice. She

continued, "Wealth, health, beauty and comfort
or discomfort are all the results of our karmas.
We should not feel happy or unhappy by that.
The karmas change and their results change.
So, let us not worry about that."
The leper was very impressed by her reply and
started to admire the princess. He thought,
"What a noble woman! How strong her religious
beliefs are! " As the sun set, the leper fell
asleep.
The princess was still awake doing prayer. She
noticed an old woman with a young man
approaching them. The old woman told the
princess, "I know what happened to you. I did
not like your father's behavior, and I have come
to help you. I have brought with me a young
man who is handsome and you should leave
that leper and marry this young man. You will
be happy with him."
The princess told the old woman, "Madam, I am
married to this man with my own wish and with
the consent of my father and I am not backing
out. A woman marries only once. He may be a
leper but for me he is the king of the kings, my
king."
The old woman became angry and said, "If you
take my advice, you will be happy, otherwise I
will kill you. The princess started uttering the
Namokar Mantra. At once, a miracle happened.
There was neither the leper nor the old woman.
Instead, a divine person stood in front of her.
The Leper had turned into Manikchand, and he
said "I am Manikchand, the king of the city
named Manipur on the Vaitadhya hill. Once I
heard someone say,
"Crows are black everywhere,
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

Parrots are always green,

Happy are happy everywhere,
Misery, the wretched are in!"
So, I decided to test this. Therefore, I changed
myself into a leper to find this out. The king's
men picked me up. You proved that real happy
person could be happy in any situation. You are
truly honorable and praiseworthy. How lucky I
am to have you as my wife and my queen."
The princess did not know if this was a dream
or if it was for real. She still stood confidant in
her belief that purity always shines. The
princess showed her gratefulness to the divine
person, her husband and accepted that this
also happened because of her karmas. They
lived happily ever after.
Key Message:
There are a number of key themes implied in
this story. First is that happiness or misery is a
state of mind regardless of the situation that
one is in. If you think you are miserable, then
you will be miserable. So many people in life
are unhappy today even though they have so
many luxuries, love, health, and freedom that
many less fortunate souls only dream of. This is
why many people with less material wealth
enjoy more happiness and lead more
meaningful lives than do the well to do. Full
faith in the theory of karma is essential to a
state of contentment and happiness. Second,
key message is that of faithfulness to ones
spouse. The princesss belief and commitment
to the institution of marriage is admirable. The
message is that we as human beings should
respect our spouses and stay committed to
them until we move to another life.

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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

STORY-5

King Shrenik of Magadh had a beautiful queen

named Dharini. Once while she was sleeping, she
dreamt that a white elephant was entering her
mouth. She immediately woke up and told the king
about the dream. Shrenik knew that it was an
auspicious dream. He called the fortunetellers who
stated that the queen would get a handsome and
lovable
son
who
would
have
marvelous
achievements to his credit. The king and queen were
very much pleased to hear this.
During the third month of her pregnancy, Dharini had
an irresistible urge to ride in the country on an
elephant with the king during rain, while the sky is
full of clouds of different hues and there are frequent
flashes of lightening. In most of India, it rains only
during the monsoon, which occurs from June to
October. Dharini however had the urge during offseason. The fulfillment of her urge was therefore a
problem. In order to see that she is not affected by
the unsatisfied urge, king asked his eldest son and
the Prime Minister Abhaykumar to devise some way
to satisfy that urge. Abhaykumar had a friend who
could make miracles. He exhorted that friend to
cause untimely rain etc. for the sake of his step
mother. That friend arranged exactly according to
Dharinis urge. She therefore could ride on an
elephant with the king and satisfied her urge.
In due course she gave birth to a very handsome,
attractive boy. Rain in Indian language is called
Megh. In memory of the pregnancy urge of Dharini,
the boy was named Meghkumar. At the age of 8 he
was sent to school where he learned all 72 arts and
crafts and became known as an accomplished youth.
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

He was then married to 8 beautiful girls with whom

he enjoyed all the pleasures of the worldly life. Once
Lord Mahaveera came to Rajgruhi and camped in
Gunashil monastery. Almost every resident of
Rajgruhi used to go to His sermon. Meghkumar went
as well, and was very much impressed. Realizing the
transitory nature of the worldly situations, as
explained by the Lord, he decided to renounce his
worldly life. But his parents were sad to hear about
his intentions. They tried every means to stop him
from renouncing. He however remained very firm.
But in order to satisfy his parents wish, he agreed to
become the king for one day and was coronated with
all the royal pomp. Immediately after that, he left
everything and became a possessionless monk of
Lord Mahaveera.
At night, he was allotted a place near the door for
spreading his bed. During the night, monks going for
bathroom had to walk past his side. Since no lamps
are allowed in the monks residence, they happened
to trample his bed and at times his body as well. Poor
Meghkumar could not sleep for the whole night. He
was raised in all the luxuries and even monks used to
treat him with regards. It was therefore awful for him
to face the feet of the monks and the dirt that was
brought all over his bed and body. He had to stay
sleepless for the entire night. He felt that he could
not bear that sort of miserable life and decided to
give up renouncement.
In the morning, he went to the Lord to seek
permission to return home. The Lord was aware of
the discomforts that he had faced. He however asked
him, Megh, do you remember the discomforts that
you had faced during the previous life? Since
Meghkumar did not, the Lord described it as the
following:
During the previous life you were the king of
elephants and were known as Meruprabha. Once
there was a fire, which you escaped narrowly. That
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

reminded you of the terrible fire you had faced in still

earlier life. For a shelter from fire, you therefore
opened up a vast stretch of land by removing all
plants, bushes, and trees so that all animals could
get refuge in case of a fire. You also weeded out
grass that grew there.
Again, there was a wild fire in your forest. All the
animals came running and took refuge on that
stretch. You also were there. During that time, you
raised your foot to scratch your body because of an
itch. That very time a rabbit was pushed in that
space by the pressure of other animals. As you tried
to put the foot back, you felt the presence of the
rabbit and decided to hold the foot up in order to
save it. The fire raged for two and a half day during
which you continued to hold your foot up out of
compassion for the rabbit.
At the end of fire as the animals retreated, you tried
to lower your foot. It had however stiffened during
that time. You could not maintain your balance and
fell down. You felt agonizing pain and could not get
up. That way you spent three days and night facing
much affliction and acute pain. Ultimately you left
that body and were born here as the prince of
Shrenik, because of your compassion for the rabbit. If
you could face that much distress for the sake of
rabbit and gained the valuable human life in return,
how come you cannot face the foot dirt of your fellow
monks in the interest of gaining lasting happiness?
Meghkumar was impressed by the Lords words and
realized that he should stay on in his own interest.
He requested the Lord to initiate him afresh since he
had virtually broken his vow of the monkhood by
strongly desiring the worldly life. The Lord did
accordingly and Meghmuni, as he was called after
that, started leading rigorous, austere life. Fasting for
days together, he stayed, most of time, in meditation
in order to eradicate his Karmas. The Lord and
Gautam-swami too praised him for that. When his
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

body became very weak and could no longer observe

the rigors of monkhood, he decided to observe fast
unto death. That he did for a month on mount
Vaibhargiri near Rajgruhi and took birth in heaven.
The Lord has stated to Gautam-swami that at the end
of the heavenly life, he would be reborn in MahaVideha and would attain salvation.
Key Message:
Here is a great example of compassion. An elephant
bears discomfort and pain to save a little animal. We
are more developed and rational beings. We should
learn from these animals to be helpful to each other.
Besides, when one takes an oath to lead the life a
monk, one should not revert to worldly life. This is a
very tough and rigorous life meant to give an
understanding of the true nature of the soul. In order
to achieve this understanding, one must put aside
the worldly life permanently because it tends to
distort thing. Suffering occurs because of ones past
karma so one should accept it and focus on the soul
and self-realization.

STORY-6

Sage Nandisen was a great ascetic and well versed in

the scriptures. He took a vow to serve monks with
utmost devotion. His devotion of serving the monks
was popular even in the heavenly abode.
One day his services were very much commended by
Indra in an assembly of angels. One of the angels
could not believe this and decided to check out the
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

worthiness of sage Nandisen.

The angel gods, due to their miraculous power, can
assume any form they desire and can reach any
where in a split second. This god arrived at the
outskirts of the village where sage Nandisen was, to
test his "Vow of Service" and assumed a form of two
monks. One became a very old and debilitated monk,
while the other became a young and healthy monk.
It was a day when the sage Nandisen was to break
his fast. After he came from gathering gochari (alms)
and was about to break the fast, the young monk
came to him and said, "Oh blessed one! There is a
very old monk suffering from diarrhea, extreme
thirst, and hunger. He is weak and needs your help."
Hearing these words, sage Nandisen immediately got
up, took pure water with him and went to the place
where the old monk was. Seeing Nandisen, the old
monk at once raged, "Oh you wretch, I am lying here
suffering and you did not even care to find if anyone
needs help."
Sage Nandisen was not offended by these words. He
had developed virtues of tolerance, forgiveness and,
compassion. He calmly replied, "Oh, the best of the
monks, kindly excuse my oversight. I have brought
pure water for you to drink."
He helped the old monk drink the water. He cleaned
his clothes, his body and helped him sit up. The old
monk again became irritated. He frowned, "Oh you
fool, don't you see that I am too weak to sit. What
are you doing to me?"
Sage Nandisen said, "I will help you. After helping
the old monk to sit up, he said, "Oh revered monk, if
you desire, I shall carry you to Upashray (place where
monks stay temporarily) where you will be more
comfortable."

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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

The monk replied, "Why are you asking me? You may
do so if you wish."
Sage Nandisen seated the monk on his shoulders and
slowly proceeded towards Upashray. He walked
slowly, watching every step carefully. The old monk
(angel god) was determined to test him, so he
increased his own weight gradually. With the increase
in weight on his shoulder, sage Nandisen began to
tremble and he almost fell down. The old monk said,
"Oh you wretch, what is wrong with you? Don't you
know how to walk? You are shaking my entire body. Is
this the way to serve the sick?"
His words were very rude and harsh but sage
Nandisen was not disturbed at all. He said, "Pardon
me. I shall be more careful."
He ignored this and continued walking and took care
not to offend the monk with any of his actions. On
the way he thought about how to cure the monk.
He arrived at the Upashray with the monk. During all
this the old monk was watching sage Nandisen and
did not see any change in the helping nature of sage
Nandisen even after all the aggravation. So the old
monk turned back into an angel and bowed down at
once to sage Nandisen, saying, "Blessed are you. Oh
sage, you are the illustration of a real monk. You
deserve all the praise by Lord Indra. I am very
pleased with you and grant you whatever you
choose."
"Oh heavenly angel, this human life is very precious.
Nothing is more valuable than human existence. I am
content. I crave for nothing", said sage Nandisen.
The heavenly angel bowed his head at the feet of the
sage and returned to his abode, applauding the
merits of the sage.
Key Message:

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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

This story teaches us the importance of tolerance,

discipline,
and
contentment,
which
are
all
fundamental principles of Jainism. First and foremost,
Nandisen had chosen to devote his human birth to
serving monks, which is very admirable and requires
utmost levels of dedication and discipline. The
important point to realize is that Nandisen
demonstrated his tolerance (i.e. abstinence from
getting angry) and willingness to serve others before
serving (food and water) ones self without even
knowing that he was being tested by the angel gods.
This means that he was truly dedicated to the monks
and believed in what he was doing. He also indicated
his contentment with the human life when asked for
a wish. This contentment is symbolic of the principle
of non-possessiveness.

STORY-6

In the city of Kshitipratisthit, there lived a king

named Virsen. He had two sons, Surasen and
Mahasen. Both brothers grew up with deep love for
each other.
Once Mahasen developed a boil on his tongue. It
grew in size, became more painful, and would not let
him rest. The King tried all treatments but nothing
worked. Everybody felt sorry for the Princes
suffering. All attempts to cure him failed and at last,
doctors declared it as an incurable problem. After a
while, disease advanced so much that he had a
horrible bad breath. No one could come close to him
because they could not tolerate the odor. But his
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

younger brother, Surasen would not leave him alone.

He always sat by his bed. One day, he decided not to
eat any food till his brother was well. Later that
evening, it struck him to recite the holy Namokar
Mantra.
Surasen brought a cup of water to his brother's
bedside. He recited the holy mantra and sprinkled
the water on his brother's tongue. To his and his
brother's surprise, there was some immediate relief.
After continuing this for several days, his brother's
tongue became better. The odor and the boil
disappeared. Everyone felt happy and developed a
deep faith in Namokar Mantra.
After a while, Acharya Bhadrabahu came to that city.
He was blessed with Avadhi Jnan (clairvoyance) The
two brothers came to pay him homage. After the
sermon was over, Surasen approached him and
asked if he could explain them why his brother had to
suffer.
The Acharya told them how his past life caused this
to happen.
"In the Bharat Kshetra, there is a city called Manipur.
Madan, a warrior lived there. He was a strong
believer of the Jin path. Madan had two sons, named
Bhir and Vir. One day on the way to a park, two boys
saw a monk lying in the street and found out that the
monk was in the meditation when a poisonous snake
bit him. The snake had, however, escaped into his
hole. Upon hearing this Vir became very upset and
asked, "There were so many people here and why
nobody killed the snake?"
Bhir said, "Brother, the snake could escape because
of his good karmas. But why are you wishing for such
a sinful act?"
Vir said, "Bhir, can't you understand that the snake
has committed the grave sin by biting a holy
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Ratnatrayam Pathshala

righteous monk? Therefore killing a snake would not

be a sinful act."
Bhir replied, "No, two wrong acts do not make one
right. Wrong is wrong. You should not get emotional
and justify your thinking. You should repent for what
you just said."
Vir was still upset and said, "No."
The monk continued to tell Surasen, "Bhir is reborn
as you and Vir as your brother. Since he wished to
hurt the snake and did not repent, he had to suffer
by having a boil on his tongue. By the time you
started reciting the holy Namokar Mantra his bad
karmas were depleted and it seemed as if you helped
him cure his illness."
They were enlightened by listening about their
previous. They decided to renounce the worldly ties
and became monks. From there on, they lived a
spiritual life.
Key Message:
Theory of karma is explored here. Things happen to
one based on the bad or good karma that has
accumulated. There is no luck or misfortune, but
instead, one is guided by ones karma. Reciting the
Navakar Mantra and/or deep meditation are methods
of destroying bad karmas. Due to our onedimensional vision and lack of knowledge, we dont
always understand why bad or good things happen
to us.

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